121-6. Historical publications.

(a) General Provisions. - It shall be the duty of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to promote and encourage the writing of North Carolina history and to collect, edit, publish, print, and distribute books, pamphlets, papers, manuscripts, documents, maps, and other materials relating to North Carolina archives and history. The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources may establish a reasonable charge for such publications and devote the revenue arising therefrom to such additional publication of materials relating to North Carolina archives and history as may be undertaken by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Except for reports, bulletins, and other publications issued for free distribution, professional materials including books and journals published by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources are hereby expressly excluded from provisions of G.S. 147-50.

(b) Editing and Publishing of Official Messages and Other Papers of Governor. - During the term of office of each Governor of this State, a copy of all official messages delivered to the General Assembly, addresses, speeches, statements, news releases, proclamations, executive orders, weekly calendars, articles, transcripts of news conferences, lists of appointments, and other official releases and papers of the Governor shall be kept in the Governor's office for delivery to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources at the end of each quarter during the Governor's administration. These papers shall be compiled and a selection made therefrom by a skilled and competent editor. The editor shall edit, according to acceptable scholarly standards, the selected materials which shall be published in a documentary volume as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the term of office of each Governor. If, for any reason, a Governor serves less than a full term, a documentary volume shall be edited and published for such portion of a term as he shall have served. If a Governor serves more than one term, a documentary volume shall be edited and published for each term served. Funds for editorial assistance, printing, binding, and distribution shall be paid from the Contingency and Emergency Fund. The number of copies of each volume to be printed shall be determined by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in consultation with the Governor whose papers are being published.

(c) It shall be the duty and the responsibility for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to edit and publish a second or new series of the most significant records of colonial North Carolina. From records which have been compiled in the North Carolina State Archives concerning the colonial period of North Carolina, a selection of the most significant documents shall be made therefrom by a skilled and competent editor. The editor shall edit, according to acceptable scholarly standards, the selected materials which shall be published in documentary volumes not to exceed approximately 700 pages each in length until full and representative published colonial records of North Carolina shall have been achieved. The number of copies of each volume to be so printed shall be determined by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and such determination shall be based on the number of copies the Department can reasonably expect to sell in a period of 10 years from the date of publication. In any year during which the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has completed a volume and has it ready for publication, the Department may include in its base budget for that year sufficient funds to pay the estimated costs of publishing the volume. In the event that the volume is not published during that year, the appropriation made, or any unencumbered balance, shall revert to the general fund.